Featuring a new demon every Saturday! (No demons were harmed in the making of this blog)

Think vampires are all the same? Think again! Vampires come in more flavors than Baskin-Robbins ice cream. So, this special DotW feature, Vampires we know and love, spotlights different kinds of bloodsucking fiends from around the world.

Palis: The foot-licking vampire

Some vampires are just not sexy. The Palis is one of these. It has very close ties to the djinn, but it’s not about to pop out of a bottle and give you three wishes.

In Persian folklore, the Palis likes to sneak up on people sleeping in the desert at night and lick their feet until all the blood is sucked out.

There’s a well-known story about two savvy travelers who avoided this by sleeping with their feet touching. The Palis who came to snack on them wasn’t the brightest star in the sky, and had to give up, seeing his intended prey had two heads, and being unable to find the soles of any feet.

You can also keep the Palis away using salt. Guiley isn’t specific how, but I’m thinking that putting it on the soles of your feet might be a plan.